Personal Characteristics and Academic Staff Teaching Adjustment to the New Normal: The Case of a Public University in Nigeria

Abstract

Background/purpose -This study assessed personal characteristics and teaching adjustment to the new normal among academic staff at a public university in Cross River State, Nigeria. Two null hypotheses were formulated and tested in the study. Materials/methods -The descriptive survey design research design was adopted for the study. Using the multistage sampling procedure, a sample of 313 respondents was obtained from 2,410 academic staff. The Personal characteristics and teaching adjustment questionnaire (PCTAQ) was used as the data collection instrument. However, primary data were collected from 297 academic staff who voluntarily participated. Independent t-test analysis was employed in testing the hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. Results -Teachers' attitudes towards e-learning were found to have significantly influenced their teaching adjustment to the new normal. Teachers who maintained favorable attitudes towards e-learning reported higher COVID-19 teaching adjustment success rates than their counterparts with unfavorable attitudes. The level of ICT education significantly influenced their teaching adjustment to the new normal. Academic staff with a high level of ICT education adjusted their teaching strategies more to the new normal than those with a low level of ICT education. Conclusion -It was concluded that teachers' characteristics can significantly influence teaching staff's adjustment to the new normal. The implication is that university academic staff need to develop positive attitudes toward e-learning and be ready to maximize all the potential benefits of utilizing digital technologies for instructional delivery.